02 April 2023 , 10:32
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Tony Bellew has explained he "didn't want the trouble" which arose from a ringside altercation he had with members of Jermaine Franklin's team last night.
The American was defeated by Anthony Joshua, a close friend of Bellew's, in what was a relatively routine comeback fight after two losses for the Brit. But the real excitement came after the bell when both Brits found themselves in feisty situations, Joshua inside the ring with Franklin and Bellew outside of it with a teammate.
Footage captured by Mirror Fighting at ringside saw Bellew being taken away by security after yelling something at a member of Franklin's corner team. The incident took place just after a bit of post-fight handbags between Joshua and Franklin that had taken place in the ring following a testy final round between the pair.
"You can't have a trainer going for a boxer," Bellew told IFL TV after the incident. "So I said 'hey lad what are you playing at?' And he's said something and I've said 'f*** it, let's do it then. I'll f***ing meet you with a right hand... His mate apologised to me and I said 'you can't'.
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"I didn't want the trouble with him but I just said 'what are you doing?' And he went 'what are you going to do?' I said 'what the f*** are you going to do' so I've stepped down like 'let's go'. I stepped aside so I thought he was going to step to me and a right hand was going to meet him.
"But he didn't get close enough so what do you want me to do? I was just trying to tell the man that you can't approach a fighter, so you can't do that. It's down to the fighters and if Jermaine and [Anthony] are having a little tussle..."
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The Bellew incident couldn't be seen on the DAZN broadcast but was mentioned on commentary as the cameras focused on the action in the ring. It followed an altercation between Joshua and Franklin after the Brit attempted to push and take down his rival following the final bell with the pair eventually being separated.
A win was vital for Joshua, who had lost three of his last five fights including two back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk after the pandemic. But he tasted success again for the first time since 2020 after the judges scored the London bout 118-111, 117-111 and 117-111 in his favour on a drab evening in his hometown.
“He wanted to win and round by round we are talking to each other," Joshua explained of his altercation during his post-fight press conference. "I am pushing his head and s***, so there is a bit of ego and pride that happens in the ring. It just spills over into the final bell. That’s all it is but it is all respect.”